Dr Bea Stitches
@drelvey.bsky.social
Historian by training; textile artist by preference. Usually stitching something inspired by Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy. European.
Stitching Cromwell exhibition Monday 2 - Friday 6 March; and Lecture Wednesday 4 March at 4.30pm. The Hive, Worcester.
Wolf Hall Weekend (@wolfhallweekend)
Some responses to Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy are analytical. Others are devotional. @Bea Stitches’ work belongs to a rarer category: it answers Mantel in another medium entirely.
substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Stitching Cromwell exhibition Monday 2 - Friday 6 March; and Lecture Wednesday 4 March at 4.30pm. The Hive, Worcester.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.
February 7, 2026 at 2:45 PM
I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.
“Have you ever been through any form of marriage or civil partnership to each other or anyone else in this or any other country?”
February 8, 2026 at 10:29 AM
“Have you ever been through any form of marriage or civil partnership to each other or anyone else in this or any other country?”
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
January 30, 2026 at 7:47 PM
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
Some news I’m so happy to share. An exhibition to launch my new business www.marchlands.co.uk Excited and scared in equal measure to be going out on my own! #exhibition #london #allwelcome
January 27, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Some news I’m so happy to share. An exhibition to launch my new business www.marchlands.co.uk Excited and scared in equal measure to be going out on my own! #exhibition #london #allwelcome
I watched it to save others from it…
January 27, 2026 at 11:18 AM
I watched it to save others from it…
Agnes Strickland, Anne Boleyn, and Stitching Cromwell.
“The Enchantments of Poetry and Romance”
Reading Agnes Strickland’s Lives of the Queen’s of England
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Agnes Strickland, Anne Boleyn, and Stitching Cromwell.
It’s me! Talking about Stitching Cromwell with friends @guildmedmak.bsky.social!
'I’m obsessed with Cromwell’s correspondence – there was just so much of it, and it is incredibly wide ranging.'
We're a broad church here at the Guild and enjoy showcasing creative-critical work from the fringes of the medieval period! Read about textile artist @drelvey.bsky.social's work here:
We're a broad church here at the Guild and enjoy showcasing creative-critical work from the fringes of the medieval period! Read about textile artist @drelvey.bsky.social's work here:
Meet a Medievalist Maker: Lucie Bea Dutton — The Guild of Medievalist Makers
“ Meet a Medievalist Maker ” is an ongoing series of blog posts introducing our members and the work they are doing. Each post is organized around our Four P’s: a project they are working on...
www.guildmedmak.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:33 PM
It’s me! Talking about Stitching Cromwell with friends @guildmedmak.bsky.social!
Just came across this ticket in my studio. On the train back to London the following day, I said to my beloved “I’m going to stitch that.” 12 years later, I’m still stitching Cromwell. I’m just making a start on my latest Cromwell Trilogy piece, a full length portrait of Jane Seymour.
January 19, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Just came across this ticket in my studio. On the train back to London the following day, I said to my beloved “I’m going to stitch that.” 12 years later, I’m still stitching Cromwell. I’m just making a start on my latest Cromwell Trilogy piece, a full length portrait of Jane Seymour.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
Doesn't he know that women eat the rage that this induces for breakfast, to make themselves even more powerful and terrifying to small men like this one?
I hope the countless women archivists, historians, and annals keepers over the centuries haunt his dreams.
I hope the countless women archivists, historians, and annals keepers over the centuries haunt his dreams.
January 16, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Doesn't he know that women eat the rage that this induces for breakfast, to make themselves even more powerful and terrifying to small men like this one?
I hope the countless women archivists, historians, and annals keepers over the centuries haunt his dreams.
I hope the countless women archivists, historians, and annals keepers over the centuries haunt his dreams.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
Some good news, though, if anyone has mislaid medieval Britain.
January 15, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Some good news, though, if anyone has mislaid medieval Britain.
STITCHING CROMWELL EXHIBITION:
I’m giving a public lecture, “Stitching the World within and without Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy”, at the Hive,
@worcesteruni.bsky.social on Weds 4 March. There will be a Stitching Cromwell exhibition all week.
e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvent...
I’m giving a public lecture, “Stitching the World within and without Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy”, at the Hive,
@worcesteruni.bsky.social on Weds 4 March. There will be a Stitching Cromwell exhibition all week.
e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvent...
e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk
January 15, 2026 at 9:01 AM
STITCHING CROMWELL EXHIBITION:
I’m giving a public lecture, “Stitching the World within and without Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy”, at the Hive,
@worcesteruni.bsky.social on Weds 4 March. There will be a Stitching Cromwell exhibition all week.
e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvent...
I’m giving a public lecture, “Stitching the World within and without Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy”, at the Hive,
@worcesteruni.bsky.social on Weds 4 March. There will be a Stitching Cromwell exhibition all week.
e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvent...
Anna Regina (2026). Anne Boleyn in her Coronation robes, the second in the Thomas Cromwell’s Four Queens series of 6ft portraits.
January 11, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Anna Regina (2026). Anne Boleyn in her Coronation robes, the second in the Thomas Cromwell’s Four Queens series of 6ft portraits.
In preparation for this year’s #WolfCrawl with @simonhaisell.bsky.social I wrote about Stitching Cromwell and how the archives find their way into each week’s slow read.
“Neat stitching… Who did this?”
My Substack home, The Thread of her Tale, has picked up a lot of new subscribers in recent weeks.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:32 PM
In preparation for this year’s #WolfCrawl with @simonhaisell.bsky.social I wrote about Stitching Cromwell and how the archives find their way into each week’s slow read.
I finished this earlier today. Absolutely loved it. I can’t wait for the next volume.
December 25, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I finished this earlier today. Absolutely loved it. I can’t wait for the next volume.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
Sculpture by Korean artist Do Ho Suh, 2010s-20s, whose fabric structures recreate the places he has lived, reflecting on broader concepts of migration and what makes a "home".
December 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Sculpture by Korean artist Do Ho Suh, 2010s-20s, whose fabric structures recreate the places he has lived, reflecting on broader concepts of migration and what makes a "home".
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
The first person recorded wishing someone "Merry Christmas" was Bishop John Fisher, in a letter to Thomas Cromwell #OnThisDay, 22nd December 1534.
"And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire."
🖼️ Wikimedia Commons
"And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire."
🖼️ Wikimedia Commons
December 22, 2025 at 8:14 AM
The first person recorded wishing someone "Merry Christmas" was Bishop John Fisher, in a letter to Thomas Cromwell #OnThisDay, 22nd December 1534.
"And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire."
🖼️ Wikimedia Commons
"And this our Lord God send you a mery Christmas, and a comfortable, to your heart’s desire."
🖼️ Wikimedia Commons
Good luck Hayley. I have lots of weddings over the next three days, so I won’t be shopping - I hope customers are kind.
December 22, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Good luck Hayley. I have lots of weddings over the next three days, so I won’t be shopping - I hope customers are kind.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
The complete Bayeux Tapestry has finally been released and proves that Bishop Odo had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal Norman invasion of England.
December 20, 2025 at 12:38 PM
The complete Bayeux Tapestry has finally been released and proves that Bishop Odo had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal Norman invasion of England.
Reposted by Dr Bea Stitches
New beginnings can be exciting, but also a little daunting. To help ease into your creative-critical mindset of 2026, we warmly welcome you to join us for a special Making Space Session: Creative Intention Setting for 2026!
⏰5:30-7:00pm GMT
📅Thurs, 8th Jan 2026
📍Zoom
⏰5:30-7:00pm GMT
📅Thurs, 8th Jan 2026
📍Zoom
Making Space Session (Creative Intention Setting for 2026) — The Guild of Medievalist Makers
The first Making Space session for 2026: with a difference! Join us to set your creative intentions for the year!
www.guildmedmak.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
New beginnings can be exciting, but also a little daunting. To help ease into your creative-critical mindset of 2026, we warmly welcome you to join us for a special Making Space Session: Creative Intention Setting for 2026!
⏰5:30-7:00pm GMT
📅Thurs, 8th Jan 2026
📍Zoom
⏰5:30-7:00pm GMT
📅Thurs, 8th Jan 2026
📍Zoom
I have just put my hand in a letter from Thomas Cromwell dated 24 July 1540, sent from the Tower of London. I think it must have been the last letter he wrote.
I am not ok.
I am not ok.
December 18, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I have just put my hand in a letter from Thomas Cromwell dated 24 July 1540, sent from the Tower of London. I think it must have been the last letter he wrote.
I am not ok.
I am not ok.
When I am conducting marriage and civil partnership ceremonies in my other job, I use “loved ones” a lot. It’s more inclusive than “friends and family”.
December 18, 2025 at 11:05 AM
When I am conducting marriage and civil partnership ceremonies in my other job, I use “loved ones” a lot. It’s more inclusive than “friends and family”.
I wrote about Agnes Strickland, Katherine of Aragon, and state papers.
Katharine: “the friendless queen”
Reading Agnes Strickland’s Lives of the Queen’s of England
open.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I wrote about Agnes Strickland, Katherine of Aragon, and state papers.
Exciting delivery - a new bolt of calico has arrived in time for my religious houses pensions project: coming to Stitching Cromwell in 2026.
December 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Exciting delivery - a new bolt of calico has arrived in time for my religious houses pensions project: coming to Stitching Cromwell in 2026.